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JTA) – It is dangerous to identify publicly as Jewish in Germany, including wearing a kippah, Germany’s commissioner on anti-Semitism said.
In a wide-ranging interview, Felix Klein told the Berliner Morgenpost on May 24 that he could not recommend that Jews wear a kippah everywhere and any time in Germany. He also said public servants must be better educated to combat anti-Semitism.
Recent government statistics show a 20 percent rise in the number of anti-Semitic crimes reported in the past year, with a total of about 1,800 in 2018. The vast majority of crimes for which a perpetrator or motive is known were attributed to the far-right wing.
In the controversial interview published in newspapers of the Funke Media Group, Klein – appointed to his position in the Interior Ministry last year – was asked about the safety of wearing the traditional Jewish head covering.
“My opinion has unfortunately changed on that point,” he answered. “I can’t recommend that Jews can wear a kippah everywhere and any time. Sad to say.”
He added that it was urgent that the government do a better job of preparing public servants: “There is a clear definition of anti-Semitism [the International Alliance for Holocaust Remembrance definition, which Germany adopted in 2017] and it must be taught in police academies. It also must be included in the training of teachers and lawyers.”
The comments have prompted numerous strong reactions from Jews here, including rabbis who always wear a head-covering.
“Klein’s intentions are good, but we know that hiding our identity was never the solution,” Yehuda Teichtal, a Berlin community rabbi and head of the city’s Jüdisches Bildungszentrum Chabad Lubawitsch, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in a telephone interview.
“Of course we have to take security precautions, use our heads and not walk into a place” that could be dangerous, added Teichtal, who in 2017 did a “kippah walk” through the city’s Kreuzberg neighborhood, a district with a large Muslim population.
It is dangerous to wear a kippah in Germany, anti-Semitism official says - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
In a wide-ranging interview, Felix Klein told the Berliner Morgenpost on May 24 that he could not recommend that Jews wear a kippah everywhere and any time in Germany. He also said public servants must be better educated to combat anti-Semitism.
Recent government statistics show a 20 percent rise in the number of anti-Semitic crimes reported in the past year, with a total of about 1,800 in 2018. The vast majority of crimes for which a perpetrator or motive is known were attributed to the far-right wing.
In the controversial interview published in newspapers of the Funke Media Group, Klein – appointed to his position in the Interior Ministry last year – was asked about the safety of wearing the traditional Jewish head covering.
“My opinion has unfortunately changed on that point,” he answered. “I can’t recommend that Jews can wear a kippah everywhere and any time. Sad to say.”
He added that it was urgent that the government do a better job of preparing public servants: “There is a clear definition of anti-Semitism [the International Alliance for Holocaust Remembrance definition, which Germany adopted in 2017] and it must be taught in police academies. It also must be included in the training of teachers and lawyers.”
The comments have prompted numerous strong reactions from Jews here, including rabbis who always wear a head-covering.
“Klein’s intentions are good, but we know that hiding our identity was never the solution,” Yehuda Teichtal, a Berlin community rabbi and head of the city’s Jüdisches Bildungszentrum Chabad Lubawitsch, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in a telephone interview.
“Of course we have to take security precautions, use our heads and not walk into a place” that could be dangerous, added Teichtal, who in 2017 did a “kippah walk” through the city’s Kreuzberg neighborhood, a district with a large Muslim population.
It is dangerous to wear a kippah in Germany, anti-Semitism official says - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
